Individual Details
Roger de Mortimer 3rd Baron Mortimer and Earl of March
(3 May 1287 - 29 Nov 1330)
English history remembers him as the first Earl of March, fated lov er of a queen and murderer of the deposed King Edward II. Roger Mortimer w as certainly a thorn in King Edward's side. Not approving of the influen ce of the rival Despencers over the king, Mortimer gathered a number of ba rons in rebellion against Edward in 1321. The rebels were initially defeat ed and Roger spent two years as a prisoner in the Tower of London.
Following this rebellion, all the Mortimer lands and possessions fell to t he king. An inventory of all the Mortimer possessions at Wigmore Castle w as taken by Alan de Cherletone, who was given custody of the castle on beh alf of the king.
According to Charles Hopkinson and Martin Speight the inventory of Wigmo re contains a fascinating mixture of the mundane and the exotic. The weapo nry included three springaulds, giant crossbows similar to Roman ballista e, which discharged stones or large iron crossbow bolts with their windi ng mechanism, and three without; 14 crossbows of horn; two Saracen bows a nd three Saracen arrows, perhaps souvenirs of the Crusades; an Irish battl e-axe; three helmets; eight shields, helmets for jousting; six tents and p avilions; Other interesting items include, a horse-armour of leather, a m ap of Wigmore, a chess board of painted and gilded nutmeg wood and a hunti ng horn.
In 1324 Roger managed to escape from the Tower and went to France, follow ed by his lover, Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II. Together they plott ed to destroy the king and his supporters, the Despencers. With a small mi litary force of 700 exiles and mercenaries they returned to England in 132 6. Edward II and the Despencers left London for Wales the Despencers he ld large estates in Wales and were historical rivals of the Mortimers in H erefordshire and the Marches, hoping there to raise a force of men loy al to the king. They did not have enough time, however, and were defeat ed by Mortimer and Isabella. Both the elder Despencer and his son were exe cuted, and the king imprisoned. In fact the younger Despencer was execut ed in Hereford, which had become Mortimer's headquarters for the durati on of this confrontation.
Parliament met in 1327 and the king was forced to abdicate in favour of h is son, Edward III. Not long after, the deposed king was killed. It was sa id that Roger was the instigator of this cruel murder. Roger Mortimer open ly continued his relationship with the queen and exercised power through t he young Edward III.
When Roger was made Earl of March in 1328 he organised a jousting tourname nt in Herefordshire and invited the young king and his mother. Roger us ed his position to amass great wealth and with his high-handed behaviour m ade many enemies.
His greed and hunger for power finally caught up with him and when Edwa rd III came of age, he had Roger executed. On November 29th 1330, Roger w as hanged as a traitor at Tyburn in London. Wigmore Castle was grant ed to the Earl of Salisbury, however, when Roger's grandson, another Roge r, came of age, Edward III made him the second Earl of the March and a Kni ght of the Garter, and reinstated all the Mortimer land holdings.
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
Piers Gaveston was his guardian!
Defended Ireland against Edward Bruce
Lover of Queen Isabella
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
Following this rebellion, all the Mortimer lands and possessions fell to t he king. An inventory of all the Mortimer possessions at Wigmore Castle w as taken by Alan de Cherletone, who was given custody of the castle on beh alf of the king.
According to Charles Hopkinson and Martin Speight the inventory of Wigmo re contains a fascinating mixture of the mundane and the exotic. The weapo nry included three springaulds, giant crossbows similar to Roman ballista e, which discharged stones or large iron crossbow bolts with their windi ng mechanism, and three without; 14 crossbows of horn; two Saracen bows a nd three Saracen arrows, perhaps souvenirs of the Crusades; an Irish battl e-axe; three helmets; eight shields, helmets for jousting; six tents and p avilions; Other interesting items include, a horse-armour of leather, a m ap of Wigmore, a chess board of painted and gilded nutmeg wood and a hunti ng horn.
In 1324 Roger managed to escape from the Tower and went to France, follow ed by his lover, Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II. Together they plott ed to destroy the king and his supporters, the Despencers. With a small mi litary force of 700 exiles and mercenaries they returned to England in 132 6. Edward II and the Despencers left London for Wales the Despencers he ld large estates in Wales and were historical rivals of the Mortimers in H erefordshire and the Marches, hoping there to raise a force of men loy al to the king. They did not have enough time, however, and were defeat ed by Mortimer and Isabella. Both the elder Despencer and his son were exe cuted, and the king imprisoned. In fact the younger Despencer was execut ed in Hereford, which had become Mortimer's headquarters for the durati on of this confrontation.
Parliament met in 1327 and the king was forced to abdicate in favour of h is son, Edward III. Not long after, the deposed king was killed. It was sa id that Roger was the instigator of this cruel murder. Roger Mortimer open ly continued his relationship with the queen and exercised power through t he young Edward III.
When Roger was made Earl of March in 1328 he organised a jousting tourname nt in Herefordshire and invited the young king and his mother. Roger us ed his position to amass great wealth and with his high-handed behaviour m ade many enemies.
His greed and hunger for power finally caught up with him and when Edwa rd III came of age, he had Roger executed. On November 29th 1330, Roger w as hanged as a traitor at Tyburn in London. Wigmore Castle was grant ed to the Earl of Salisbury, however, when Roger's grandson, another Roge r, came of age, Edward III made him the second Earl of the March and a Kni ght of the Garter, and reinstated all the Mortimer land holdings.
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
Piers Gaveston was his guardian!
Defended Ireland against Edward Bruce
Lover of Queen Isabella
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
This is the ancestry of the Wiley and Dorr families of Maine. It was begun by Leonore Dorr and Keneth Wiley. it is a legay of their love of family
Events
| Birth | 3 May 1287 | Netherwood, Thornbury, Herefordshire, England |  | ||
| Marriage | 20 Sep 1301 | Pembridge Manor, Herefordshire, England - Joan de Geneville Baroness of March |  | ||
| Death | 29 Nov 1330 | hanged, drawn and quartered - Elms, Tyburn, Warwickshire, England | | ||
| Occupation | Lieutenant of Ireland 1316 | ||||
| Reference No | P21136 | ||||
| Burial | Church of the Grey Friars, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England |
Families
| Spouse | Joan de Geneville Baroness of March ( - ) |
| Child | Margaret Mortimer Baroness Berkeley ( - ) |
| Child | Katherine de Mortimer Countess of Warwick ( - ) |
| Child | Edmund de Mortimer Lord of Mortimer ( - 1331) |
| Child | Roger de Mortimer Lord of Foulis ( - 1359) |
| Child | Geoffrey de Mortimer Lord of Towyth (1309 - 1376) |
| Child | John de Mortimer Lord of March (1310 - 1328) |
| Child | Joan de Mortimer Lady of March ( - 1338) |
| Child | Agnes de Mortimer Lady of March and Countess of Pembroke (1320 - ) |
| Child | Isabella de Mortimer Lady of March (1314 - ) |
| Child | Blanche de Mortimer Lady of March and Viscountess of Grandison ( - ) |
| Child | Beatrice de Mortimer Baroness of Brewose, Lady of March ( - ) |
| Father | Edmund de Mortimer 2nd Baron of Mortimor, 7th Baron of Wigmore ( - ) |
| Mother | Lady Margaret Eleanor de Fiennes ( - ) |
| Sibling | Maud de Mortimer ( - ) |
| Sibling | Isolde Iseude Iswolde de Mortimer (1285 - 1328) |
Notes
Marriage
Through his marriage with Joan de Geneville, Roger not only acquired increased possessions in the Welsh Marches, including the important Ludlow Castle, which became the chief stronghold of the Mortimers, but also extensive estates and influence in Ireland. However, Joan de Geneville was not an "heiress" at the time of her marriage. Her grandfather Geoffrey de Geneville, at the age of eighty in 1308, conveyed most, but not all, of his Irish lordships to Roger Mortimer, and then retired, notably alive: he finally died in 1314, with Joan succeeding as suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville. During his lifetime Geoffrey also conveyed much of the remainder of his legacy, such as Kenlys, to his younger son Simon de Geneville, who had meanwhile become Baron of Culmullin through marriage to Joanna FitzLeon. Roger Mortimer therefore succeeded to the lordship of Trim, County Meath (which later reverted to the Crown). He did not succeed, however, to the Lordship of Fingal.[2]Death
The jealousy and anger of many nobles were aroused by Mortimer's use of power. Henry, Earl of Lancaster, one of the principals behind Edward II's deposition, tried to overthrow Mortimer, but the action was ineffective as the young king passively stood by. Then, in March 1330, Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent, the half-brother of Edward II. After this execution Henry Lancaster prevailed upon the young king, Edward III, to assert his independence. In October 1330, a Parliament was called in Nottingham, just days before Edward's eighteenth birthday, and Mortimer and Isabella were seized by Edward and his companions from inside Nottingham Castle. In spite of Isabella’s entreaty to her son, "Fair son, have pity on the gentle Mortimer," Mortimer was conveyed to the Tower.Accused of assuming royal power and of various other high misdemeanours, he was condemned without trial and ignominiously hanged at Tyburn on 29 November 1330, his vast estates forfeited to the crown. His body hung at the gallows for two days and nights in full view of the populace. Mortimer's widow Joan received a pardon in 1336 and survived till 1356. She was buried beside Mortimer at Wigmore, but the site was later destroyed.
In 2002, the actor John Challis, the current owner of the remaining buildings of Wigmore Abbey, invited the BBC programme "House Detectives at Large" to investigate his property. During the investigation, a document was discovered in which Mortimer's widow Joan petitioned Edward III for the return of her husband's body so she could bury it at Wigmore Abbey. Mortimer's lover Isabella had buried his body at Greyfriars in Coventry following his hanging. Edward III replied, "Let his body rest in peace." The king later relented, and Mortimer's body was transferred to Wigmore Abbey, where Joan was later buried beside him.
Endnotes
1. OneWorldTree.